Feyrith had meant to continue studying from the book on healing magic Master Endari had given him, but all he could do was stare blankly at it. It was still open on the page he'd left it at when he'd gotten summoned by Councilor Hellan along with a few other novices to tell them about a mission to investigate odd magical energies emanating from a ruin on the mainland.

He couldn't believe he'd volunteered for it.

It still didn't feel real. On a rational level, he was glad. He'd been waiting for a proper opportunity to prove himself, and so when none of his peers had agreed to do it, he'd taken it upon himself. It was an obvious choice.

But the problem was that this was going to be much more dangerous than anything he'd done before. He'd never actually left his home island and had only read about the outside world. The island of Aendor was by no means a place devoid of threats, but the beasts that lived here were nothing compared to the ones attacking humans on the mainland.

Feyrith was confident enough in his abilities to know that he was likely to handle defending himself from any threat he could face on his travels, but that didn't mean that imagining it didn't make him nervous. Though he wasn't too worried about the beasts that might attack him on the way. He was mostly concerned about how he would handle whatever challenge awaited him in that ruin.

Feyrith put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the metal table he was sitting at. He didn't regret accepting the mission, but he couldn't help but feel anxious about it. Incredibly so.

If he succeeded, he might get the chance to impress his Masters, perhaps even some elves in the higher Circles. It wouldn't make them consider elevating him to their level, definitely not yet, but it might make them notice his worth. But if he failed.... Well, it might have the exact opposite effect.

It hadn't been long since he'd managed to get accepted into the Third Circle, and it wouldn't take much to get removed from it and sent back to the Second. And at best, failing would make everyone think less of him, and his superiors might retract their praise of his potential.

Feyrith sighed, his heart flipping almost painfully as his anxiety intensified. He'd never been good in stressful situations, but he'd also always managed to deal with them and overcome any challenge he'd been faced with. He just needed to believe in himself, and he would manage this. Perhaps there was just some kind of anomaly in that ruin, maybe an ancient artifact left behind by their ancestors that they didn't know about, and it would be nothing dangerous.

And his mission was to only investigate, not solve the problem or deal with it in any way. He was to contact Councilor Hellan as soon as he had information to report. And sure, he was supposed to use his communication stone to do so rather than return here, but Feyrith doubted he would be told to proceed with the investigation if there was real danger afoot. He was still a novice, after all, no matter how powerful he already was. Feyrith didn't doubt that the Council would send trained sorcerers to deal with whatever threat the ruin could be hiding.

And yet no matter how much he assured himself that all of this was worth it, he couldn't help but feel like this was a mistake. That he wasn't ready for this. But there was no way he would go to the Councilor and tell her he didn't want to do this anymore. His reputation would immediately be damaged if he did, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

He found himself staring absently out of the circular window that was right next to him, giving him a view of the entire Academy­—the tall towers glistening in the sun, the enchanted metal walls that surrounded them, and even the purple forests beyond, on the horizon.

Feyrith knew that the mainland was nothing like this, and he couldn't deny that the way humans lived was intensely fascinating to him, but he was still very intimidated by the idea of seeing something as different as what he'd seen in the books, illustrated by the elves who had spent time in the human lands.

He flinched when he heard his door opening, his eyes snapping to it as he sprung to his feet. He watched the door open fully with bated breath, only relaxing when he saw it was Councilor Hellan. And then he tensed up immediately once more as he watched her walk into his small room. There was only a table, a chair, a bed, and a couple of full bookcases lining the walls, but having two people here at once was almost too much.

"Feyrith," she greeted him with a nod, her large, golden earrings glinting as they moved. "I must say I was hoping you would be interested in this mission."

Feyrith's mouth went even drier than it had been before. He swallowed, bowing his head to her. Of course, he appreciated the implied compliment, especially from a Councilor, but if anything, it made him more nervous about failing her.

"However, as much as I am sure you can manage this mission on your own, I did take the liberty of lending you a helping hand, so to speak."

Feyrith blinked at her in surprise. "Oh?"

"Close to the coast, there is a human town called Sunwood." She put her hands behind her back, looking out the window. "An elf called Edwyr lives there. He should be able to help you on your quest."

Feyrith frowned, now more confused than surprised. Wasn't the whole reason for his involvement the fact that the Council had no one else to send to the ruin, as it wasn't of high priority when it came to defending the mainland?

If this Edwyr was available, then....

Feyrith's eyes widened. "Is Edwyr—?"

"Cursed, yes," the Councilor confirmed easily, apparently not at all bothered by this information.

"But if he has no magic, how can he help?"

Finally, Hellan turned to look Feyrith in the eye. "An elf bearing the Divine Curse is still much more skilled than any human, and Edwyr is a local. He should be able to help you reach the ruin, at the very least."

Feyrith supposed that made sense, though the idea of working with a Cursed elf made him a little wary. He felt pity for elves born with no magic, but the Goddess must have had a reason for making them that way, which was exactly what was putting him on edge. He'd never met a Cursed elf, and thinking about what they could be like wasn't pleasant.

"Give this to him," the Councilor said, raising her hand and showing him the small scroll she had been holding. "It's an order from the Council telling him to help you."

Feyrith didn't say anything as he took it, bowing his head in thanks. He hoped his silence didn't come across as rude because he couldn't help it—he always got nervous around the Councilors. They were the best of the best, the most powerful, and Feyrith always felt like anything he did around them could jeopardize his future. It wasn't true, but he couldn't help but feel that it was. But he was very grateful for this. If Edwyr didn't listen to him, he was surely going to listen to the Council, especially since this scroll bore the official High Council seal.

"May the Goddess protect you," the Councilor told him before leaving with one last nod. Feyrith sank into his chair, sighing as he stared down at the scroll in his hand. He could barely sit still now, his hands shaking. He didn't particularly want to see Edwyr, but since the Councilor had gone through all that trouble to find him some help, Feyrith shouldn't complain.

He somehow managed to drag himself up again, walking over to his bed, from whose post hung his satchel. He needed to pack the few things he would need and leave if he wanted to arrive in Sunwood by this evening. At least according to where he thought Sunwood was. He had yet to look at a map to make sure he remembered correctly, but he would have plenty of time to do that once he was riding to the mainland.

Feyrith grabbed his communication stone, a map, his journal, and his enchanted pen and put it all in his satchel along with the scroll. He would have packed some food as well, but he didn't feel like having a discussion about it with the elves who gave out rations. Feyrith could just conjure up something later. No matter how difficult it could be to create edible food from nothing, Feyrith had tried it enough times to now feel somewhat confident in his skill, even if the food created was incredibly bland.

He ended up bringing his waterskin as well, though, not liking the idea of wasting his energy on creating water. He wasn't nearly powerful enough yet to be able to afford that. And finally, he picked up his staff from where it was propped up against the wall next to the door.

Feyrith took a moment to study the uneven, wooden surface of it, the jagged, sharp tip, the strap attached to it so he could carry it on his back, and the magical energy he could feel radiating from it without even touching it. It was made from a piece of Denedril, the massive tree growing in the center of Aendor. It was so tall that its trunk took up a fifth of the island and cast a large part of it into permanent shadow. If Feyrith's window faced north, he would most likely be able to spot at least a part of Denedril from here.

But his window faced the south, instead—the place where his future would be decided, for better or for worse.

His heart proceeded to give a few erratic beats. It seemed the more time he gave himself to think about this, the worse and more on edge he felt. It was clearly time to go.

Heaving a sigh, Feyrith put on his black and gold robes, pulling the satchel over his shoulder, and slinging his staff onto his back right after. Feyrith took one last look at his room before walking out into the familiar corridor full of carved wooden beams and smooth, silver walls.

Feyrith paid no attention to his surroundings, though, nor did he look at anyone walking in the opposite direction. He didn't need or want any distractions right now. He only focused on getting down to the stable and leaving before he grew too nervous to do this. Leaving certainly wouldn't be such a scary concept if he hadn't already built it up in his head.

The stables were relatively far away but walking down all those flights of stairs felt like nothing. Feyrith barely remembered traversing them now that he stood in front of the wooden building just outside of the Academy. He could hear the quasir inside cawing softly and digging with their claws.

The stable keeper standing in front asked him for his name, which Feyrith gave automatically, feeling like it wasn't even him moving his lips, as if he were in a dream. Thankfully, the other elf didn't seem to notice or at the very least didn't care about Feyrith's lack of focus as he disappeared into the stable, returning a moment later with an already saddled quasir. The beast was larger than the ones Feyrith had trained with so far, but like all quasir, he was sure the animal would be relatively gentle and docile.

Still, the red eyes and black feathers this particular one had were a little intimidating, combined with the fact that it was taller than him. The stable keeper didn't seem to share these feelings as he gave Feyrith the reigns with a rather bored expression. Feyrith took them with a shaking hand and led his new steed onto the path that connected the various buildings making up the Academy.

The quasir was watching him with far too intense a stare, even as Feyrith climbed onto its back. And then it proceeded to yawn and fluff up its feathers. It was clearly much calmer than Feyrith himself.

Swallowing down his nervousness, he nudged the quasir to start walking down the path, each sandy stone making it up the same as the next. Until now Feyrith had never truly thought about this, or any of the elven buildings around him, for that matter. They were all perfect and symmetrical, which wasn't something he would see much on the mainland.

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He made the quasir move faster once they made it to the main road which connected every major structure on the island. Since it was wider, Feyrith could afford to go faster without fear of running someone over. The quasir reacted to his prompts with no hesitation or unwillingness, which was a relief even though Feyrith shouldn't have been surprised. Elves were very good at training animals. However, he had ridden one or two quasir before which were a bit too headstrong and didn't appreciate him telling them what to do all that much.

Feyrith let the quasir trot along on the side of the road as he stared at the blue and purple vegetation around him. There weren't many trees here or mushrooms, as it was impractical since they tended to grow incredibly tall. There was only one forest on the island, and it was in the northern part of it, with the rest being covered in dark blue grass and bushes.

The human lands weren't at all like this, from what Feyrith had heard. There was the jungle that was practically impossible to traverse, hiding dangerous beasts and creatures. That sounded intimidating, though Feyrith couldn't deny that a part of him was delighted at the prospect of seeing it all with his own eyes. Still, he would be much less nervous if he were going with someone more experienced.

His mind immediately jumped to the elf he was supposed to meet, and Feyrith promptly pushed those thoughts away. It wasn't going to do him any good to think about how terribly that might go. Instead, he kept his eyes on the horizon, already able to see the incredibly long, glistening, diamond bridge leading to the mainland. It was several miles in length, and from what Feyrith had read about it, it had been difficult to build, even with magic. It was perfectly smooth, except for the very surface, which was rough on purpose so the quasir could more easily run on it.

He'd never actually been on the bridge, nor had he seen it from up close, despite it being fairly close to the Academy. He was somewhat interested in seeing it and traveling over it, but the unfamiliar silhouettes of trees and mountains on the other side were making him much less enthusiastic than he would be under normal circumstances.

Feyrith tried to actively think of nothing, counting the number of the tall, golden lamps he passed on the road as he went, if only to busy his ever-buzzing mind with something. As there was practically no one else around right now, Feyrith made the quasir run faster, eager to get this done as quickly as possible. He knew the trip would take several days at least, but that didn't change his irrational need to leave Aendor behind. The longer he took to look at everything he might miss here, the worse it would feel to leave it.

It took almost an hour to get to the bridge, which was faster than Feyrith had thought, and so he let the quasir slow down. He didn't want to exhaust the animal too much, especially not so early. The quasir didn't react, neither negatively nor positively, but Feyrith wasn't going to urge it on again simply because it didn't seem bothered.

He barely noticed the two guards in front of the bridge as the quasir zipped past them, its claws finally making contact with the bridge. Feyrith couldn't help but stare down at it, and into the sea beneath it, which was visible through it. It made him feel a little nauseous—he'd never been great at handling heights—but Feyrith couldn't tear his eyes away from the sunlit, beautiful surface. Though he was glad for the equally beautiful railings around the entire bridge. They looked fragile and far too thin, but Feyrith knew no simple force could break them.

As hard as diamond was, the entire bridge was also enchanted, ensuring that no outside force would break it. And it was also meant to symbolize the elves' effort to help humanity in any situation, their will to do so unbreakable. Feyrith wondered what the humans thought about it. He would have to ask if he got the opportunity.

As he got closer and closer to the strange, green trees on the other side of the bridge, he let out a sigh. This was it, then. He looked back at Aendor behind him, the tall, golden spires of the Academy only a gleam in the distance. They didn't even look real, somehow, like a mirage.

Feyrith truly hoped he would see them again. He sighed, turning his full attention to the human land in front of him, just as the quasir was about to reach the end of the bridge.

The sounds of scratching of the beast's claws against the diamond surface changed into quiet thuds as the quasir's claws hit the stone path, so uneven and worn in comparison to the ones Feyrith was used to. But somehow, he didn't find this intimidating and unfamiliar. It was quite novel to see the contrast. And there was a certain beauty to it, just a different kind. The various sizes of the stones and their varying shapes were fascinating to look at as his steed continued making its way down the road.

Perhaps this wouldn't be so daunting after all.

Feeling encouraged by this, Feyrith continued looking at everything around him with interest. The area surrounding the road was mostly made up of grassy fields as far as the eye could see, but there were small clusters of trees every once in a while. And everything was so strangely green.

He'd of course known that would be the fact ahead of time, but that didn't mean he understood why that was. Feyrith was aware that there had been studies concerning this topic, but they still had no answers. Everything on Aendor practically oozed magical energy, but they still had yet to discover the full extent of how it worked.

Of course, Feyrith didn't doubt that their island had been blessed by the Goddess, just like the elves themselves had been, but that didn't mean he didn't wish to understand where all of that energy was coming from, why it manifested itself in dark colors, or even why it was so present on Aendor, specifically. Unfortunately, research into this topic was widely frowned upon, so they were unlikely to ever know.

The rest of his journey to the town of Sunwood was shockingly uneventful. It seemed not many people frequented these parts, and the few settlements that were around were far too off his planned course to visit. But maybe that was for the best. After his initial anxiety had worn off, he was starting to feel relaxed and curious about anything and everything, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. He sometimes had a problem with focusing on the task at hand and got far too easily distracted. He needed to keep reminding himself of what his mission was.

Though, he couldn't say that he was particularly excited when he finally approached Sunwood because he had the feeling that talking to Edwyr was not going to be pleasant.

The sun was already starting to set as Feyrith approached the gate leading into the town. The timing wasn't ideal, but it wasn't surprising either. Traveling always took far too long according to what he'd heard and read, so he'd been aware this would be the case. Still, he might have to spend the night here. Traveling at night was more dangerous, and many humans seemed to avoid it at all costs. But then again, he was an elf, and he knew enough about protective magic to attempt it. The only problem was that he might get lost, as he didn't know his way around at all. Edwyr was supposed to help him with that, but he might not be as willing to travel at night.

Feyrith sighed. This was all very complicated, so he decided to put off this planning for after he talked with Edwyr, and he instead slowed down the quasir and greeted the guards standing on top of the wall above the gate as he entered the town. They gawked at him, saying nothing, which made Feyrith wonder if he'd done something wrong, but since they weren't trying to stop him, he continued, heading toward the first houses.

Feyrith forced the quasir to slow down even more as he took in the wood and stone structure closest to him. The owner of the house didn't seem anywhere close, and they were probably not inside either, judging by the lack of light coming from the windows, so Feyrith didn't feel too self-conscious as he took in the entirety of the building in front of him.

He'd of course seen human structures in books before, but these looked somewhat different. For one, they only had one story, and their roofs were very strange. They didn't form any kind of tip. Instead, it was as if they were cut off halfway through, with a large, flat area at the very top.

Feyrith was climbing off the quasir's back before he even realized it, wincing at how much his entire body ached from the long travel. He hadn't realized it until he started moving. But he didn't let that stop him for long as he eagerly walked close to one of the pillars making up the corners of the house. There was something carved into it. Shapes of people? Gods? He couldn't say for sure, but it was fascinating.

"Can I help you?"

Feyrith flinched, whirling around to see an unimpressed-looking woman, one eyebrow raised at the elf. Feyrith cleared his throat, trying not to appear as embarrassed as he felt.

"Yes, perhaps," he replied, which prompted the woman to frown at him. "I am to meet another elf here and—"

"You mean Edwyr?"

Feyrith was shocked that she knew immediately, though in hindsight it made sense. Edwyr was likely the only elf in the vicinity of this town, so, of course, she would know him.

"Yes."

"Right, he lives on the other side of Sunwood. On that hill over there." Feyrith looked where she pointing, noticing one house on the top of a small hill. Was that what she meant? In any case, he would ask someone else once he made his way over there, just to make sure.

"Thank you."

The woman only frowned at him harder. Feyrith wasn't sure if he'd done wrong, but he needed to get going so he didn't ask. He took a hold of the quasir's reigns and led it into the town, unable not to stare at every single house he passed, making mental notes on the differences between them.

The few humans that saw him all looked surprised, though at least a few of them didn't seem too happy to see an elf here. How odd. He may have no time to help them right now, but they didn't know that. Feyrith would have thought they'd be at least neutral to his presence here. But maybe he was reading the atmosphere wrong.

Regardless, it didn't matter. He needed to meet with Edwyr first and foremost. He asked one more person about where Edwyr lived, an older, balding man, who confirmed that it was the house on the hill with a rather shocked expression.

Feyrith decided to leave the quasir behind when they reached the other side of the wall protecting the town, letting it eat grass as he continued on, walking up the hill and finally standing in front of what was supposed to be Edwyr's house. It looked like all of the other houses, which was surprising. Feyrith had thought an elf, even a Cursed one, would personalize their living quarters to better suit their species, but he wasn't here to criticize.

He closed his hand around the door handle before remembering that humans tended to prefer when a visitor knocked on the door first. But would Edwyr prefer the human way of doing things or not?

Feyrith could feel his nervousness returning. He stood there, thinking about this for far too long before finally deciding to simply knock. Being overly polite was better than being unintentionally rude. But as it turned out, his attempt at human politeness had been pointless because no one opened the door.

He walked around the house, peering into the dark windows. No one was home. It was fairly late, but Feyrith didn't know what occupation Edwyr had taken up after being exiled. Perhaps it required returning late.

As he walked back to the door, he as if by instinct grabbed the handle again. Would it be terribly forward to go inside? Elves had practically no concept of privacy, unlike humans. Feyrith knew that walking into the living quarters of one of his fellow elves on Aendor wouldn't make anyone angry, but he had no idea how Edwyr could react.

But Feyrith was also terribly curious about how a Cursed elf lived. And he wouldn't mind resting his legs for a moment either. He still felt worn out after the trip over here.

Feyrith sighed, folding his arms and turning away from the door. It would be better not to risk it. And besides, Edwyr was probably going to come back soon. It wasn't wise to stay outside at night, as he'd been told many times.

He managed to resist the temptation for almost half an hour before he attempted to open the door, only to find that there was a lock that stopped him. That was very surprising, since elves never used locks, aside from keeping the members of lower Circles out of the chambers and areas fit only for those of higher Circles. And those locks were entirely magical.

His curiosity was stopped for only a moment, however, before he was muttering an incantation to move the mechanism of the lock. As he heard it click, Feyrith opened the door slowly, peering inside in case Edwyr had been in there all along and had just been ignoring him.

But no, the house was empty, and all of the candles Feyrith could spot were unlit. Still, despite no one being here, Feyrith did his best to walk as softly as possible as he made his way inside, closing the door behind him. He quickly looked around the relatively small room, walking over to the table so he could sit down.

He let out a small sigh of relief before finally taking the time to take in the room. And he couldn't help but feel shocked yet again. Nothing about this room even suggested an elf might live here. All the furniture was made of wood, for a start, and there was no sign of anything relating to the Goddess at all.

Feyrith couldn't say he was surprised by that, given that Edwyr had been Cursed by her, but it was still odd since every room the elf had been in on Aendor had included something related to her, be it something as small as a necklace in the shape of a starflower, or a full statue of her. Feyrith constantly wore a starflower earring to honor her, so this was very odd to him.

But perhaps the most glaring thing was that the entire room was very...plain. Functional, perhaps, was a better word. Elves didn't revel in pointless luxury and decoration, but they tended to put gold and other nice-looking metals into everything. Their clothes were made with a similar design in mind as well, favoring bold colors and contrasting combinations, while also preferring darker hues as the base at the very least.

But nothing about this room showed any of that. It looked exactly like Feyrith would have imagined a normal human's house—there was a small fireplace in the corner, a bed larger than what the elf was used to, and a few cupboards and wardrobes along the walls. There were also a few weapons hanging from the wall on the opposite side of the room, but that was about it. No tapestries, no decorations, nothing.

Was it possible that Cursed elves were simply completely different from their magic-using counterparts? Or was that something specific to Edwyr?

Or perhaps Feyrith was in the wrong house, after all.

Before Feyrith got the time to become anxious about that possibility, the door swung open. And Feyrith couldn't help but stare at the newcomer, frozen where he was sitting.

Whatever Feyrith had imagined Edwyr to look like, this wasn't it at all. The hair that was barely long enough to cover up his eyebrows was shocking enough, but seeing the thick beard....

An elf growing a beard was completely unheard of. It wasn't banned, but it might as well be. And yet here Edwyr was as if it was perfectly acceptable.

It made him look...wrong. Which Feyrith supposed, given the other elf's condition, was somewhat fitting.

"What are you doing in my house?"

Feyrith cringed at the harsh tone, and at the equally harsh glare Edwyr was giving him. This was already off to a terrible start.